One thing I love about creating new clothes from older pieces is that you never really know how they’ll turn out until they’re done. At least that’s been my experience. And here we have Exhibit A: a great little denim jacket that I appliqued with vintage denim, adding a flower and two leaves.

Kind of sad looking — not at all what I was hoping for. But that just meant it needed more work, right? The floppiness of the flower petals was fixed by stitching them into place, but it was still missing something. And then this arrived …

Yes, hand-spun art yarn from one of my major etsy faves, FromMyArtToYours. Pictures don’t do this yarn justice — it’s soft as a cloud and such a dreamy color. Originally, it was going to go on a pale blue camisole, but as soon as it arrived, it was obvious that it was destined for that denim jacket. Are these the perfect couple, or what?

Adding yarn vastly improved the little flower, too.

There’s a little more yarn on the front:

Plus, there’s enough left over to make something else. Or not. When yarn is this pretty, I just want to keep it in a bowl by my desk to look at. In this case, “art yarn” is an absolutely accurate description!

Because I found a not-too-bad denim jacket that’s already got the embellishment process underway. Here’s the front:

And the back:

Now to figure out what to do with the rest of it. My first impulse was to add something right below the fabric that’s already there, like a lace ruffle. But I’m afraid that’s going to make the person wearing it look like a linebacker, since that’s already the biggest part of the jacket.

So most likely the front panels, collar and cuffs will be where new stuff ends up. Heading for the red, blue and purple fabric stash boxes right now …

… assuming I finish it, of course. So far, the back has been destroyed, and believe me, that is a good thing. The back panel of this jacket was an enormous embroidered monster truck — yes, one of those crazy vehicles with tank-sized tires and a hideous paint job that always make me wonder what the owner of that thing could possibly be under the influence of. And, no — I don’t want any.

Anyway, back to the jacket. The new back panel still needs a lot of work, but I do like the way the dark red silk scarf is looking as a background for the strips. It’s sort of fun doing something that doesn’t have ruffles and lace involved for a change. If only there were more hours in the day …

Tasteful, ladylike, simple … sometimes it’s nice to go in a different direction. And since so much of what I do is a little over the top, I loved the idea of sneaking in a surprise — a simple denim jacket with vintage (mostly) lace trim. Kind of sweet, isn’t it?

The original jacket already had two strips of lace. Those are the ones third over from the zipper on either side, the wider, floral pieces. I’ve added the others from a big box of vintage lace and trims. So far, the back has been left alone and it might stay that way. But around here, you can never tell.

Like this:

I love love LOVE this pale green denim jacket. The cut, the fabric, the seam detailing — they’re all just perfect. But as nice as it was, it was still plain — and truthfully, around here plain doesn’t stand a chance.

So … meet the new, improved version, with appliqued embroidered silk panels in front and back, plus a detachable silk “flower.” The final element, which involves the addition of a beautiful cotton yarn outlining the seams on the right front, isn’t in place yet. Hopefully, I won’t screw it up and it’ll be done soon.